The Secret Life of Birds

     I have been spending so much time down at the beach doing my plover volunteer work through the NYC Plover Project. I have become so invested in the lives of these birds. I feel like I have been granted a special view into their lives seeing their tenacity, tenderness, and yet, also seeing the harshness that ensues in nature and in the obstacles that are created by the humans who also use the beach, some who are happy to share and others who need a touch more convincing. 

    The birds also have to compete with obstacles due to people when the people are absent, trash which causes dangers to them directly or indirectly by attracting copious natural predators, in a far more concentrated fashion than usual.

    I feel so fortunate to have spent so much time around these little endangered birds and the other birds and wildlife who also share this habitat. It has been magical, and helping people see the value in wildlife and having them empathize with the hardships they face that can be exacerbated by things we think so harmless is very rewarding.

    In just two days, 7 hours total, here is some of what I've seen:

Two American Oystercatchers looking to start a family soon in the dunes.

A quick grab of lunch, an unlucky molecrab for this piping plover.

And then quickly on to the next morsel.

There is nothing more mesmerizing than black skimmers, flying in formation and skimming the water, happy to see these two, part of a group of three.

Always glad to see common terns, this one was taking a proper rest on the sand.

Also taking a proper rest, the piping plovers will all soon have chicks and that's when they really have to be on top of everything all the time.

Looking a little frazzled at that mention of chicks, eh?

This is one of the threats to plover chicks, ghost crabs. Some of them are nearly as big as the adult plovers and by nightfall they are a legitimate worry for chicks.

In this one afternoon, this one nest seemed perfectly in its incubation. But later the birds were acting different, sitting different, nd i noticed an empty egg, next to the adult!

And then, I noticed also, a chick! How new to the world this little one was in this very moment.

And then I noticed one of the adults fluttering relentlessly inside the exclosure, with something in its mouth. It dropped the object that I soon realized was the shell from the hatched egg. Landed, ick up the shell, walked out, and then proceeded with its mission of discarding the eggshell. As to not attract the attention of a potential predator to their home.

A precious opportunity to observe this-- from afar. It is important to note these are taken from a distance to not alert the birds but to allow for proper observation. All photos are taken using a long lens and cropped thereafter,

When I was at the beach, it was one of the least crowded days I have been there, and this long-tailed duck decided loafing on shore was best to do.

Sometimes at the beach, the action isn't just on the land. Sometimes the creatures below give some clue as to what's happening underwater. I enjoyed a pod of bottlenose dolphins swimming along the shoreline with what looks to be a calf or youngster in the middle!

Always super happy to see these creatures!

Speaking of youngsters, this oystercatcher family was with a single chick and the parents keep going no matter what.

One of the parents had only one foot, but it kept up with its chick and kept an eye out for its safety.

Many parts of the beach, most usually parts closest to the dunes are closed off for nesting birds. Much of the beach still remains open for people, but it's up to us to follow the rules and be aware of the birds living here. Like we tell all our little humans, it is important to be a good sharer!

And if you are not a good sharer, the common terns will let you know. By divebombing your face.

As I walked along the beach, in the wrack line I noticed some action. An adult plover feigning injury to divert this oystercatcher only means one thing.

Chicks are nearby.
And if chicks are in the wrack line...

... they are surrounded by trash.
So.
Much.
Trash.

Nearly invisible, if you are not looking for them, you really do risk catching ne underfoot. So many people have no idea how tiny and mobile they are from hours after hatching.

But even though you're moving, there is much to dodge, aside from just the trash that surrounds you.

The trash seems endless, so many of us pick up trash on our monitoring and outreach shifts but the ocean never seems to stop coughing it up. Like a terrible sickness, the trash is just a plague.

Sometimes on the beach you also get some birds that are just not quite like all the others. This roseate tern is a great example. To the untrained eye, they may just look like another tern in the crowd.

But that every slight tinge of rose on their belly, their slender all back bill, silvery back makes them stand out in my eyes. These birds are like the piping plover, are also endangered.

Something that got me super giddy was watching a bottlenose dolphin get right into the fishing action. There were fishing boats, birds, and dolphins fishing in the area and the tail slapping behavior helps to stun fish, making them more easy to capture. It's so wild down at the water, I'm always wondering what will be in store next!